Answer What Is Your Biggest Failure

Job interviews can be filled with a lot of daunting, unpredictable questions. Many job applicants dread the idea of talking about their failures, which can throw a wrench into any interview. It can be tough to frame the conversation around your faults, especially when you’re trying to make a good impression. Don’t worry—there are plenty of ways to reflect on your past in a positive and productive way without hurting your chances at a new job!

Steps

Choosing Your Example

1. Choose a failure that you learned from. It’s hard to craft a specific, engaging response if you pick something vague as the base of your answer. Instead, pick a specific learning experience from your past that really allowed you to learn and grow, which gives you plenty of self-reflection to consider as you prepare your answer.
   • For example, saying, “I had a tough time in high school” doesn’t give the interviewer much insight.
   • Examples such as “I lost a close friend due to poor communication skills” or “I failed a final because I didn’t read the instructions properly” would be better starting points.
2. Pick something that relates to the skills you need for this job. Think about the types of skill sets that the interviewer is probably looking for before jumping into an answer. Narrow down your options to something that applies or connects to the job that you’re applying for. This may help your answer sound a lot more dynamic and engaging.
   • Unfortunately, you can’t predict if the interviewer will like your answer or not. All you can do is pick an answer that best represents you!
   • For instance, if you’re applying for a translation job, you can say, “I enrolled in Spanish courses in college, but I didn’t have a lot of success. However, I realized that I really loved learning a foreign language, and decided to study Chinese instead.”
3. Check that your answer seems authentic. Above all else, focus on picking a genuine experience. Selecting a far-fetched story to share probably won’t increase your odds of getting hired, and won’t really endear you to the interview. Instead, choose an answer that represents you as a person and what you can bring to the table.
   • For instance, talking about a mistake you made in a project at work would be a genuine, authentic example of a failure.
   • You want your employer to know you for who you are, not as someone who exaggerates and stretches the truth.

What to Say

1. Describe the basics of what happened to the interviewer. Retell the story for your interviewer in a brief but engaging way that highlights your past failure. Don’t feel the need to shirk over the actual failure itself—describe everything that happened, so the interviewer understands what exactly went on.
   • Give the interviewer context for the situation, what you were trying to accomplish, what actions you took, and the result of those actions.
   • For instance, you can say something like, “My biggest failure occurred in my sophomore year of college, where I was expected to close the tutoring center. I forgot to lock up the front office, and someone broke in overnight.”
2. Transition your answer into talking about your successes. Turn the interview question into an opportunity to talk about how you’ve improved since then. While talking about a specific failure, mention instances where your learning experience has helped you to grow and improve while on the job. This also helps prove that you’re capable of change.
   • For instance, you can describe how forgetting to lock that door taught you to create a checklist for yourself so you don't forget any of your responsibilities.
   • You can also share how your learning experience helped accomplish a goal at your job, or kept you from making the same mistake twice.
3. Emphasize what you’ve learned from the experience. Any failure is tough to relive, especially if a potential job is on the line. Keep in mind that the learning experience is just as valuable as the mistake or failure itself. End your story by reflecting on what you learned and how you would do things differently if you were presented with a similar situation in the future.
   • For example, you can explain, “Ever since I forgot to lock up, I’ve made an effort to double- and triple-check my work so no mistakes happen on my watch.”
4. Try not to give overconfident answers. The “biggest failure” question gives you the opportunity to dig a little deeper into your past. While it may be tempting to give confident answers, like “I’ve never failed at anything before,” this likely won’t impress the interviewer, and will only make you look conceited. Instead, take some time to really think about the question before diving into an answer.
   • Instead of saying “I’ve never experienced any big failures,” say, "I try to view each of my failures as a learning experience. For example…”
5. Don’t put yourself down when you answer. The interviewer isn’t looking to throw a pity party—instead, they’re looking for a potential employee with enough self-confidence and self-awareness to answer their questions honestly and from the heart. Don’t make comments like “I’m no good at anything,” or “I’ve had too many failures to count.” Instead, try to stay optimistic and positive while you reflect on your past.
   • Instead of saying, “I’m such a screw-up,” say, “I’ve made my share of mistakes, but I’ve gained so much knowledge and wisdom from those experiences.”
   • You can say, “I messed up some of the details on a spreadsheet at a past job, but this experience taught me to double- and triple-check my work.”

Warnings

• Don’t try to play it safe in your interviews. Tame, cookie-cutter answers are going to give a tame, cookie-cutter impression to the interviewer. Don’t be afraid to dig deeper for your answers!

References

See also

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• Prepare for an Internship Phone Interview
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• Explain a Termination in a Job Interview
• Take Control in Your Interview
• Prepare for an Informational Interview
• Succeed in Your Final Interview
• Keep a Job Interview on Track
• Dress for a Zoom Interview

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